


take the field

by Daten_Shi



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Marching Band, Frenemies Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Human Disaster Bucky Barnes, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insecure Tony, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, M/M, Maria Stark's Good Parenting, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-05-13 01:24:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14739455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daten_Shi/pseuds/Daten_Shi
Summary: “His passion was music, it was the sound of his mother’s voice as she sang along to the song he played, the way the music would swell with emotion during movies, the way music could set the tone, could sound a million different ways. All of this was music. Knowing that as he did, joining band his first year of high school was an easy choice.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll say this now: I was in band for all of middle school, but my high school didn't have a band at all. There wasn't a marching band for middle school. I played flute, and I am an awkward bean.
> 
> I want to say thank you _so much_ to the two wonderful people who beta'd Chapter 1 for me, Roe and RebelMeg. You two were extremely helpful, and your comments and screaming really helped with my nerves about posting this!

For all his talent with science and engineering, for all his skill with math and robotics, Tony didn’t care much for it. Sure, he enjoyed it well enough, he loved creating things and building things, and it was a step closer to earning his father’s approval, but… his heart was never really in it. Not like it was for music, for how the notes on the piano rang in an empty room, for how the keys felt under his fingertips. His passion was music, it was the sound of his mother’s voice as she sang along to the song he played, the way the music would swell with emotion during movies, the way music could set the tone, could sound a million different ways. All of this was music. Knowing that as he did, joining band his first year of high school was an easy choice.

Piano wasn’t an option for band, and while it was his first love, Tony was alright with that. He could learn to play another instrument, and he’d have a wider selection of music to play if he did. It was his father who prodded him towards the trumpet, saying that if he was going to turn his back on his _real_ talent – “however little there is” – he could at least learn to play an instrument that _mattered_. Trumpet often had the melody in music, and there were plenty of trumpet solos out there.

His mother took him to the side after his father had left to quietly explain that Howard knew nothing about music. He didn’t understand that all the instruments were important, that they all had a part, that taking even one of them out of any given piece of music, the melody would never sound as good. “You don’t have to listen to your father on this,” she told him. “Play whatever instrument you want to play.”

Tony knew, though, that he’d have to play trumpet to avoid pissing his father off even more, and he knew it upheld the mask he wore for the public, the one only his mother and Jarvis saw through. Trumpets were known for being cocky assholes and that was what people expected of him. His mother’s sad smile and quiet understanding when he came home with a trumpet case almost made him cry. (Almost. He was still a Stark, after all.)

That was how Tony Stark, heir to Stark Industries, became a trumpet player in his high school band in ninth grade.

* * *

Tony’s breath caught in his throat at the sea of people standing around the football field, all of them there for marching band camp, even though he was fifteen minutes early. He’d started practicing trumpet at the beginning of the summer and he’d come a long way, but that didn’t change the fact that he was mostly self-taught. Most of those people had been in band in middle school, they’d had years of experience with their instruments. How could Tony possibly compare?

With a deep breath, Tony plastered his (and his father’s) signature cocky smirk on his face and squared his shoulder before striding forward. That was a part he’d played for years, one he was an expert in. No one would be any wiser to his nerves or inexperience.

A shout behind him had Tony pausing in his tracks. “Hey kid!” A guy ran up to him, carrying a trumpet case by his side. “So,” the guy began, “you look like you know where you’re going. What the hell are we supposed to do? Do trumpets meet somewhere, or do we just go wherever?”

Tony raised an eyebrow behind his sunglasses. “Uh,” he muttered, surprised, “I don’t actually. Know what to do, that is. I’m new.”

The guy’s eyebrows jumped up and he laughed. “Ah, gotcha. I am too. Really new, especially to band. I’m James Rhodes, by the way.” He offered his hand to shake.

“Tony. Nice to meet you.” He replied, giving his public smile as he accepted the handshake. “Just how new are we talking?”

“Like, I have never played music a day in my life if you don’t count my elementary school days of xylophones and recorders,” James laughed. “Band just seemed cool, so I decided to join and figured I’d try the trumpet. So far I’ve made some really terrible screeching noises that my mom thought was the cat being murdered.”

That startled a genuine laugh out of Tony. Yeah, this guy could be a friend. “Seriously? You just decided on a whim to pursue an exciting high school career of playing the trumpet?”

“Yeah,” James shrugged, “why not?”

Tony had no retort for that. Instead he grinned – a real grin – at James. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I only picked up the trumpet for the first time at the beginning of the summer. I’ve been playing piano since I was four, though, and my mom is brilliant with music.”

James groaned dramatically, “Man, how is that supposed to make me feel _better_? Now I know I’m going to make a fool of myself.”

“Oh, so you’re going to be yourself,” Tony shot back without thinking about it. As soon as the words registered in his mind, Tony’s blood froze even as he continued like nothing happened. _Great_ , he thought hysterically, _you haven’t even been here for ten minutes and already insulted a potential friend. This is why you don’t have any._

“That’s just _cold_ , dude,” James replied, but he was grinning. He bumped Tony lightly with his shoulder.

 _Oh, maybe I didn’t fuck up_ , Tony wondered faintly, more than a little dazed at the positive reaction.

“You’re a goddamn punk, Rogers, and you ain’t playin’ saxophone.”

Tony and James paused and glanced over to see two others. The brunet was carrying a trombone case and scowling down at his blond friend.

The blond, Rogers seemingly, rolled his eyes. “I can play whatever instrument I damn well like, jerk.”

Brunet shook his head emphatically, “No, no, no, nope, nuh-uh, not happening. Your asthma will absolutely kill you if you try playing a saxophone while marching.”

“Dude, saxophone isn’t even that great,” a third guy interjected, carrying a saxophone case. “Trust me, I’m stuck with the damn thing. I wanted to be a percussionist, but I couldn’t get the drumming down right. Do you _know_ how many cool tricks percussionists can pull off? _Damn_.”

James and Tony watched as a fourth guy popped up from nowhere. “We _are_ pretty great, if I do say so myself. You can drum pretty much anywhere. Are you thinking about being a drummer? You should totally be a drummer.”

Tony was only barely aware of James snorting beside him. “What do you think their chances are of convincing him to play drums?” In the corner of his eye, he saw James turn and freeze.

Tony was staring at the trombone player, slack-jawed and nearly drooling. He had light blue eyes Tony could happily get lost in, and a jawline he wanted to scrape his teeth along. With long, shaggy hair that looked so soft Tony wanted to tangle his hands in it, he was doomed. A smirk stole across the brunet’s face and Tony was gone on the guy in a heartbeat.

Snickering, James raised an eyebrow, “See something you like?”

“I wanna lick it,” Tony whispered reverently. A second later his sunglasses slipped down his nose to show his eyes wide with horror. “I mean, no! Nothing! Absolutely nothing, forget I said that, oh my god!”

James stared at him for all of three seconds before his face split with a wide grin. “Dude. Did you seriously just say–”

“Please. Don’t. Shut up.”

Quiet snickering turned into howling laughter until he was panting for air. “You seriously,” James continued, between gasps, “just said you want to _lick_ –”

“Shut up, shut up, oh my god,” Tony hissed, covering his face. “Kill me. If there is any god, they should strike me down where I stand, right now.”

“Hello James,” someone said behind them, “who is your friend that just called my name?” Both turned to see a tall, built guy with long blond hair.

James rolled his eyes, “Thor, buddy, you gotta stop saying that. A girl called you a god _once_ , that doesn’t mean you are, man.”

“But of course it does,” Thor dismissed with an easy wave of his hand, “I am greatly admired for my god-like prowess.”

“Thor, oh my god,” groaned James while Tony stared in awe of the massive guy.

“Did someone call me?” Another voice joining the conversation had Tony and James spinning back around. The trombone player stood there, glancing between the three. Behind him stood the blond, the drummer, and the saxophone player. Tony turned bright red.

James blinked, “Uh, no? I didn’t think so, unless you also respond to ‘god’ like Thor does.”

“Only sometimes,” the trombone player answered, winking at Tony who immediately squeaked. Tony thought if he blushed any harder he would actually pass out. “Nah, jokes aside, I heard someone say ‘James’.”

Tony glanced between his new friend and the trombone player. “Is, um… is that your name?” Tony managed, though his lips were quirking into an almost-grin.

James – the first one – smirked. “Well, _that_ won’t get confusing at all. I’m James Rhodes, and I supposedly play the trumpet. Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, that makes more sense,” the trombone player laughed. “James Barnes, you too.”

Tony fully grinned, “Yeah _no_ , that’s too much. Rhodes, how do you feel about being called Rhodey?”

“Only if you don’t mind being called Tones,” James – _Rhodey_ shot back immediately.

The drummer spoke up then, raising and eyebrow as he smirked. “That seems fitting, considering we are here for _marching band_. The name’s Clint Barton, I’m a percussionist.”

“Sam Wilson, saxophone.” The guy chuckled, “It already looks like this is gonna be an interesting experience.”

The blond nodded a bit. “It certainly appears that way. I am Steve Rogers. Instrument is currently undecided,” he said, shooting Barnes a dirty look.

Barnes shrugged, “I already introduced myself, but most people call me Bucky. I play the trombone.”

“My name is Thor Odinson,” Thor grinned. “I am merely here because I require an arts credit, and have been informed I will be playing the triangle. I do not have much of an ear for music, I fear.”

His turn at last, Tony pulled up the press-smirk he had mastered by the age of six. “I’m Tony, and I play the trumpet. Also piano, but that isn’t relevant here.”

“No last name?” Clint teased. “Come on, it only seems fair. We all offered our first and last names.”

Tony’s shoulders tensed and his smirk turned into a sharp grin, but he had years of experience at masking his reactions. “Stark,” he said as pleasantly as he could. “My name is Tony Stark.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Tony was only mildly surprised when Thor, Sam, and Steve were the only ones to show the name any recognition. Thor nodded, his expression understanding which was a huge relief to Tony. Sam’s eyebrows rose without his expression changing otherwise. Steve’s reaction was the one Tony was expecting. His eyebrows furrowed as his mouth twitched into a frown, and there was the slightest glare on his face._
> 
> _Clint looked at him blankly. ‘Okay, and? Is that name supposed to mean anything to us?’”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand, here's Chapter 2!!
> 
> Another _huge_ thank you to RebelMeg and Roe for doing the beta on this chapter!! And thank you to everyone who left comments and kudos! It's really nice knowing people are enjoying this so far, and it makes me so happy!
> 
> Enjoy!!!

Tony was only mildly surprised when Thor, Sam, and Steve were the only ones to show the name any recognition. Thor nodded, his expression understanding which was a huge relief to Tony. Sam’s eyebrows rose without his expression changing otherwise. Steve’s reaction was the one Tony was expecting. His eyebrows furrowed as his mouth twitched into a frown, and there was the slightest glare on his face.

Clint looked at him blankly. “Okay, and? Is that name supposed to mean anything to us?”

Tony remained silent as Thor glanced around the group, and then at him. When he still didn’t say anything, Thor explained. “He is the son of Howard Stark, the CEO and owner of Stark Industries, a multi-billion-dollar company. The company is the largest weapons contractor in the country and possibly the world.”

“Stark Industries has a bunch of contracts with the United States military,” Sam added. “My uncle is in the Air Force, and every time he visits he raves about how awesome the tech is.” Bucky, Clint, and Rhodey turned to stare at Tony, astonished.

“Basically, he’s a spoiled rich boy who’s never struggled for anything in his life,” Steve growled. Tony suppressed a flinch and remembered to be thankful he grabbed his sunglasses. Howard always said – snarled, really – his eyes were too expressive.

Tony opened his mouth but before he could say something that would no doubt be incredibly insulting and cement Steve’s opinion of him, Rhodey shifted to stand in front of him. That made him pause long enough for Rhodey to start talking. It also probably saved him from losing out on all these potential friends. _Allies_ , Tony reprimanded himself, _allies and classmates, but not friends._

“That was uncalled for,” Rhodey argued. “What makes you think you know him well enough to judge him?”

Steve’s eyes narrowed. “He said his name _clearly_ expecting all of us to recognize it. That seems pretty arrogant to me.”

Rhodey scoffed, to Tony’s surprise. “He didn’t even want to tell us his last name, which means he probably didn’t want us to recognize him. It’s fair of him to think people might recognize the name if his family is pretty famous, that doesn’t mean he’s a self-centered asshole.”

“I didn’t say–” Steve began.

“You implied it,” Rhodey interrupted.

“Okay,” Bucky said loudly, stepping in between the two, “both of you, stop it. It’s the first day of camp an’ we haven’t even started yet. Let’s not get into a fight already, yeah? Stevie, the man’s got a point. We can judge Stark better after we get to know him, alright?”

Tony’s breath caught in his throat, and he felt his eyes sting with unshed tears. Right, of course it was too much to hope for the cute guy that flirted with him would still maybe be interested after finding out who he was. He would never be that lucky. Hell, that was why he _had_ his public persona in the first place, so people could judge that and not him. If they attacked someone he wasn’t, he wouldn’t get hurt. A small part of Tony’s mind whispered, _I was wrong earlier._ This _is why I don’t have friends._ How was he supposed to trust people when they said shit like that?

Rhodey was still glaring at Steve, while Sam and Clint were glancing between the two. Thor was frowning, but he had moved to stand next to Tony. Bucky and Steve were locked in a stare-off.

Seeing people splitting apart and gathering in different groups, Tony welcomed the distraction and gave his trademarked smirk. “Well, as fun as this little pow-wow has been, I’m fairly sure we’re meeting with our sections now.”

They all looked up to confirm his words, and then everyone was breaking off to hurry over to their sections. Clint wrapped an arm around Steve’s shoulders and led him away towards the percussion, all the while talking about cool tricks percussionists could do, and Thor trailed after them. Sam wandered over to the other saxophones, and Bucky strolled through the groups of people towards the trombones. Tony dejectedly watched him go, eyes further south than they probably should have been despite how much Bucky’s words had hurt.

“Dude!” Rhodey nudged him, and he snapped his head up to look at his new possible-friend. “Come on, let’s go find the other trumpets before I watch you start drooling over the guy for the third time this morning.”

Tony crossed his arms, hoping it didn’t look like he was hugging himself like he really wanted to. “Don’t worry, there probably won’t be any more drooling after that. I have better things to do,” he said, aiming for his smart-ass grin.

“Drop the act for me, okay? Man, I saw you blushing and embarrassed, and I saw your real smile, you can’t fool me. Fuck them, if they want to judge you for being you or for being a mask, then that’s their problem. You got one thing right, you have better things to do than to drool over an asshole.” Rhodey swung an arm over Tony’s shoulders as they twisted through people. Tony’s thoughts screeched to a halt at the gesture and his feet stumbled briefly as he tried to process what was happening.

Affection wasn’t completely a foreign thing to Tony, but once he turned seven, Howard made sure he knew he wasn’t a small child anymore and didn’t need “coddling”. Since then, Maria and Jarvis only ever showed him affection when Howard wasn’t around. Having his new friend –  because _fuck it, Rhodey is my friend, he defended me_ – do it so casually after just meeting was baffling to Tony.

When his mind came back online, he realized Rhodey had gone tense beside him and was withdrawing his arm. Before Rhodey could take his arm back, Tony slung his arm around Rhodey’s waist and subtly clutched his shirt. Rhodey’s arm rested back over his shoulder as he relaxed.

“How the hell did you see through the mask so quickly?” Tony muttered to him, low enough so others couldn’t hear.

Rhodey arched an eyebrow. “Like I said, I saw you blushing, drooling, and embarrassed. Plus, it makes sense for you to have a mask if you’ve grown up in a family always in the limelight. I don’t wanna be a friend to _Tony Stark_ , son of a… millionaire? Billionaire? Man, I don’t know, I don’t want the performance. I want to be _Tony’s_ friend, the kid who knows how to look like he knows what he’s doing when he has absolutely no idea. The kid that picked up the trumpet the summer before high school and decided to play it because he’d been playing piano since he was what, five?”

“Four,” Tony corrected, trying not to choke on a sob. Dammit, it was his first day of marching band camp, it wasn’t even nine in the morning, crying _wasn’t fucking allowed yet_.

“Four,” Rhodey repeated. “I want to be a friend to the guy who saw a hot dude and said he wanted to lick him, and then got so embarrassed about it he pleaded for any god to strike him down. _That’s_ the guy I want to be friends with. I’ll accept your mask in front of other people, I’ll play along, and I’ll still be your friend even when you’re acting, but that’s not the guy I want to be in this friendship for. It’s a package deal, but I’m here for the real Tony. Got it?”

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Tony nodded quickly. “Got it,” he whispered.

“Great,” Rhodey smiled, “then let’s go meet our section, and I can go make a fool of myself in front of everyone.”

“Don’t worry,” Tony genuinely grinned, “it’s easy. We’ve already established that all you have to do is be yourself.”

“Man, you are a rude brat, you know that?” Rhodey complained, but he didn’t bother to hide his smirk.

Tony laughed. “It’s been mentioned once or twice, yeah. Too bad, you’re stuck with me now. You’re never going to be able to get rid of me. You’ve sealed your fate, you’re doomed. It’s all downhill from here.”

Rhodey snickered, “Anyone ever tell you that you’re dramatic as fuck, too? What the hell are you doing in marching band? I’m sure the drama club will be begging you to join when the year starts up.”

“Not what I want to do,” Tony explained with a shrug. “It’s like all the math and science shit. I may be good at it, but it’s not my passion. That’s why I’m here instead of joining the robotics club or something. I like music.”

“Well good. If you hadn’t joined, I wouldn’t have a new best friend,” Rhodey declared. Tony’s mind froze for a few seconds, before it restarted.

“Glad I joined then,” he replied, attempting to be casual. If the smirk Rhodey sent him was any indication, he missed by a mile. Before either could say anything else, they finally fought through the last of the crowd to reach the trumpet section. Marching band camp had officially begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are much appreciated, and if you wanna leave some that's awesome! Please, come scream at me in the comments!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Tony met Natasha, Bruce, and Peggy on the second day of band camp._
> 
> _Okay,_ correction _– Tony met Bruce and Peggy, and learned to fear for his life on the second day of band camp. That was probably more accurate.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is here!!
> 
> _More_ "thank you"s to RebelMeg  & Roe for being my betas, because I'm never gonna stop being extremely thankful for them and all their work to make this story good for everyone who reads it!
> 
> Thank you to everyone that's left comments and kudos too! This story is a lot of fun to write and plan for, and it's even better knowing that other people like reading it!
> 
> I hope you like the chapter!!

Tony met Natasha, Bruce, and Peggy on the second day of band camp.

Okay, _correction_ – Tony met Bruce and Peggy, and learned to fear for his life on the second day of band camp. That was probably more accurate. Bruce was quiet, shy, and played the French horn. He also liked science and was absolutely _brilliant_ at it, which Tony was ecstatic about. Peggy played the clarinet, didn’t take any bullshit, and she was quick and clever. It didn’t take her long to see there was more to Tony than his act. Both joined Rhodey in Tony’s small but ever-growing circle of friends.

Natasha… well, Tony was fairly confident in saying he’d met the person who would one day be hired to assassinate him. She’d do it too, he had complete faith in her ability to kill him without anyone ever finding out.

Tony maintained that it was all Clint’s fault. During their water break, while Tony was basking in the sweet relief of Gatorade – something Tony hadn’t tried before yesterday – Clint was rambling on about… something. Tony wasn’t fully paying attention, distracted by the sun beating down on his back, the sweat rolling down his neck, and just how delicious the drink was after hours of working in the summer heat.

“–all I still need to get is a crazy hat, rainbow suspenders, and a Nerf gun!” Clint said as Tony tuned back in. Tony blinked, and then nodded as though he understood. “Doesn’t that sound _awesome_?”

“Yeah, it sounds really–” Tony was cut off by a sudden deafening sound, right behind him. At the abrupt noise, he flinched and threw the still loose bottle cap behind him. His ears continued ringing even after the sound stopped. Clint stared at him with wide eyes, and after a couple seconds he burst into laughter.

“Oh, oh man,” he gasped, “that was – that was hilarious! You – you hit Tasha with a bottle cap! Oh fuck, she’s gonna kill you! That was perfect, you had no idea at all!”

Still shaking, Tony turned to look behind him. A red-headed girl stood there with a sousaphone, drilling holes into his skull with her glare. He guessed this was the ‘Tasha’ Clint just mentioned. She did, in fact, look like she was about to murder him. Not just like she _wanted_ to, but like she’s had experience in this and he was about two seconds away from being her next victim whose body they would never find.

“Sorry,” Tony managed to choke out even as his heart continued to race in his chest. Before anything else could be said, before Cl– _Barton_ had even stopped laughing, Tony turned on his heel and strode away.

He should’ve realized. After everything that happened when they met, Barton wouldn’t _actually_ want to be the friend of “ _spoiled rich boy who’s never struggled for anything in his life_ ”. He just wanted to humiliate Tony, and make him into a joke. It was only the second day of band camp and the only differences he could find between the boarding school of his previous years and this school – private, but not a boarding school – were Rhodey, Thor, Bruce, Peggy, and being in band. Band still had four people who either already hated him or planned to hate him, though. Tony had no doubt that even more people would despise him by the end of the next day.

He was Tony Stark after all. People loved to hate him.

Stuck in his thoughts as he was, he didn’t hear the person calling after him. “Hey man! Tony! TONES!” Rhodey’s last shout finally registered in his mind as his friend appeared in front of him, making his stop. “Tones, talk to me, what just happened? One minute you were talking to Clint, and then you were storming away. Did he say something? I swear to god, if he said something–”

“Calm down, Rhodey. He didn’t explicitly say anything. It was just pretty obvious he didn’t actually want to be my friend, okay? It’s nothing new, so don’t get worked up about it,” Tony explained, giving him a weak imitation of his usual smirk.

Rhodey’s eyes narrowed. “What did he do?”

Tony shook his head, trying to move past him. “It doesn’t matter–”

“Oh no, you’re not brushing this off,” Rhodey interrupted firmly. “What. The fuck. Did he do.”

Tony looked away, but gave in. This was _Rhodey_ after all. Two days in and Tony knew Rhodey was his best friend, and Tony thought he was Rhodey’s. “He distracted me so a friend of his could sneak up behind me with her sousaphone. I was startled, I threw the Gatorade bottle cap at her, he started laughing, and she wants to murder me now. It’s not the first time someone’s acted like my friend just to humiliate me, or the first time someone’s set me up to get into trouble. It _is_ the first time someone’s set me up to be murdered though. I guess I should be glad that hasn’t happened before.”

Rhodey studied him for a long moment before he nodded once. “I’m going to kill him,” he declared. “When I come back, I want a list of names of people who tried to humiliate you before. Thor, babysit!”

“What – Rhodey, no!” Tony attempted to stop him, but massive arms wrapped around him and picked him up. “Thor, let me go, dammit! Murder is bad! You should not be encouraging this behavior by _not letting me stop him_!”

Thor sat down on the grass and pulled Tony to his chest, cuddling him. It should’ve been terrible, with the sweat and the body heat as well as the summer heat, but at the same time… Thor was really comfortable. Despite how it should’ve been gross and too hot, the sweat and heat just didn’t seem to matter. Thor was just that comfy. It might’ve been Tony’s fifth favorite thing, after music, his mom, Jarvis, and Rhodey.

It was even so relaxing that Tony completely forgot about Rhodey and his murderous intentions until he marched back over with Barton and ‘Tasha’ trailing after him like scolded puppies. Tony’s mind blanked for a few seconds. He had no idea how to process this.

Reaching Thor and Tony, Rhodey plopped down onto the ground and gestured for the other two to do the same. Then he stared at Barton. “Now Clint, tell Tony what you told me.”

Clint sheepishly met Tony’s confused look, and shrugged. “Wasn’t trying to humiliate you, dude. It was just supposed to be a prank, like friends play on each other.”

_Friends…?_ Tony thought, hopeful but scared. Clint continued, oblivious to his inner thoughts. “I thought you’d shriek or something, but the fact that you threw the bottle cap and _hit Tasha_ was just so unexpected and made it that much funnier. I wasn’t trying to be an asshole, I swear. I didn’t consider that maybe no one’s ever played friendly pranks on you. It’s just… what I do. I play pranks on my friends. Except Tasha. I don’t have a death wish.”

“On that note,” ‘Tasha’ cut in, ignoring Clint’s snickering at her accidental band pun, “I may have overreacted to your reaction when I startled you, considering it was our first meeting. My name is Natasha. I’m sorry I looked like I was going to murder you, and I apologize on Clint’s behalf for him being a moron. I promise I’m not going to kill you for hitting me with the cap, but I won’t promise to never murder you. I’d like to be your friend though, if you can forgive me for my part in hurting you.”

Tony stared at them with wide eyes as he tried to process all of it. Clint was… trying to convey his friendship through pranks, and Natasha also wanted to be his friend – and possibly murder him at a later date, but that wasn’t anything new. The friend thing he was still trying to maybe get used to. “It was a… prank?” he asked hesitantly. “You both want to be my friends?” Dammit, the Tony Stark mask felt millions of miles away while cuddling Thor. Otherwise he would never be so honest with people he barely knew.

Clint grinned, bright and hopeful. “Yeah, dude! I promise I’ll try to think future pranks through before I play any of them on you!” At Natasha’s raised eyebrow, he corrected himself. “I promise I’ll run any future pranks for you past Natasha and Rhodey first. I really wasn’t trying to humiliate you.”

“Clint said you were clever and snarky when you talked yesterday at lunch,” Natasha added. “I’d like to get to know you, and hopefully call you a friend. Plus, I can keep him in line for the most part.”

“Yeah, sure,” Tony agreed absently, still reeling from the fact that two more people wanted to be his friends.

“Great! I think our water break is almost over though,” Clint hopped up, still grinning.

Rhodey stood and pulled Tony to his feet. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Let’s get ready to work our asses off again before Mr. Coulson starts staring at us in disappointment.”

Tony shuddered, “I think I’d take yelling over his disappointed glare.”

“Oh yeah,” Clint nodded emphatically, “his disappointment is _intense_. It’s terrifying.”

“You would know,” Natasha smirked. “You’ve been on the receiving end of it thirteen times in two days.”

Thor laughed heartily. “That is impressive, my friend.”

Clint shrugged easily, “I’m being myself. Just think, the rest of you get to put up with me for the next four years.”

“Oh joy,” Tony drawled, only half sarcastic. He had _friends_. Six of them, two days into band camp, and only two people who didn’t like him. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave kudos and comments!! I promise I'm not scary in the _slightest_ and I love hearing from my readers!
> 
> You can tell me your favorite part, or your favorite line! Tell me what you liked or didn't like! Tell me your own personal headcanons for this story! If you want, you can just scream wordlessly! It's not a bother at all!
> 
> ~~As someone who is usually terrified of leaving comments on people's stories, I get it. Trust me I do. I just want you all to know you don't have to be. If you want to leave a comment, you should! Even if you don't know what to say!~~


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“The words spilled out of his mouth before Bucky could really think them over. ‘His smile is like sunshine but with less angry squintin’ an’ dyin’ of heatstroke. His laugh might not be_ musical _but it’s full of life an’ heart. He’s quick to smile but it’s always happiest when he makes someone else smile.’_
> 
> _Bucky knew he was smiling but how could he resist when Tony was batting away Thor’s hand that was trying to ruffle his hair? The click of a picture being taken drew his attention over to meet Sam and Steve’s unimpressed stares.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhh, I'm so sorry it's been a month since I last updated!! Chapter 4 is here now!!
> 
> This'll probably be a bit long (the Author's Note for the beginning, not the chapter. The chapter is about equal to the others.) so please bear with me! Or just skip to the chapter if you wanna!
> 
> I'll admit, I got kinda nervous about how this chapter would be received, which made writing a struggle for a bit (a while, honestly). I'm so fucking thankful to everyone in the WinterIron Discord that encouraged and cheered for me, and especially everyone who let me ramble about this fic and rambled back to me when I needed motivation and inspiration to keep writing. Seriously, thank you to any of you reading this.
> 
> People who have left comments and kudos, you are _also_ deserving of so many thanks!! You all remind me that there are people _reading_ this and enjoying it, and want to see what happens next, and I couldn't be more grateful!! I know most of the time my replies are pretty repetitive, but please don't mistake that for me replying as an obligation, or not really caring. I just want all of you to know that I appreciate your comments, and I'm _so glad_ you're enjoying this!
> 
> Roe!! RebelMeg!! Once again, _all the "thank you"s_ because you two are awesome and amazing and an endless help as beta's!!
> 
> And finally, _enjoy!_

“Hey Buck… Buck? Bucky. _Barnes_!” Bucky startled and looked at Steve when he snapped.

He blinked, trying to remember if Steve had been saying anything when he spaced out. “Yeah, Stevie?”

Steve groaned, shaking his head. “I’m not even surprised at this point. It’s been four days. Are you ever gonna try, oh I don’t know, _talking to the guy_?”

“Yeah _no_ ,” Bucky scoffed. “He jus’ goes stone cold the second I step into his vicinity, even when you’re not around. That ain’t happenin’.”

“You could maybe try not glaring at the kid every time we get a break,” Sam cut in, collapsing into the seat on Steve’s other side.

Bucky turned his glare on him. “Ya could maybe learn to stay outta my business an’ shut the hell up.”

Sam met him with his own glare. “Listen Barnes, it’s a real suggestion. You keep glaring at Stark. If you like him so much – as I’m guessing you do – _why are you glaring_?”

“’Cause I hate him an’ his stupid face,” Bucky growled.

Sam stared at him for a long moment. “Uh… what?”

The words spilled out of his mouth before Bucky could really think them over. “His smile is like sunshine but with less angry squintin’ an’ dyin’ of heatstroke. His laugh might not be _musical_ but it’s full of life an’ heart. He’s quick to smile but it’s always happiest when he makes someone else smile.”

Bucky knew he was smiling but how could he resist when Tony was batting away Thor’s hand that was trying to ruffle his hair? The click of a picture being taken drew his attention over to meet Sam and Steve’s unimpressed stares. Steve turned his phone around and Bucky had to wince at the photo. It wasn’t _bad_ necessarily; on the contrary, it was a rather nice picture. That didn’t surprise Bucky in the slightest – Steve had a good eye for art. What _did_ surprise him was the goofy, adoring smile he had as he looked across the field.

“Yeah,” Sam drawled, “maybe try looking at him like _that_ more often and not glaring, and he won’t think you’re planning on murdering him. Man, between what you both said when you met Stark and the glaring, it’s no wonder he closes off whenever you get near. Clint told me he played one prank on Stark and the kid thought it meant Clint hated him. It was just a stupid little prank in the name of friendship, and Stark assumed Clint was trying to humiliate him. What does that tell you?”

“He’s got a stick up his ass?” Steve muttered. Bucky only shrugged.

Sam glanced between them. “Seriously? Alright fine, I’ll spell it out. Rhodes is apparently the first friend Stark’s ever had. He didn’t understand the nature of the prank because people have pretended to be his friends only to humiliate him or get him into trouble, multiple times. As of yesterday, Rhodes is having long talks with anyone who wants to try to be Stark’s friend. I know because I went through it.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “An’ yet, you’re still callin’ him ‘Stark’.”

Sam gave him a flat stare. “Yes, because he doesn’t trust me. I’ve been hanging out with Steve, who hated Stark the second he found out who he was, and – by regretful extension – you. _You_ keep glaring at Stark, and you were the one to say you should find out what Stark is really like before judging him. That does kind of imply that once you get to know Stark, you’re going to judge him. You really think Rhodes is going to let me anywhere _near_ Stark right now?”

Bucky looked back across the field, contemplating. Next to him, Steve heaved a sigh. “What are you planning now, jerk?”

“If I fake my own death–” he began.

Steve cut in immediately, following his train of thought easily after being best friends since they were toddlers. “I doubt faking your own death to make Stark mourn over your body, only to miraculously appear alive to comfort him is the way to get on his good side.”

Bucky swore quietly. “Then what do ya suggest, huh?”

“Find a new crush,” Steve answered immediately, deadpan. Bucky gave him a flat look. “I don’t know, maybe start by apologizing? Talking to Rhodes?”

“Embarrass yourself in front of him so terribly that he knows nothing he says or does will ever compare,” Sam cut in, smirking.

Bucky glared at him before standing. “I’m gonna go talk to Rhodes.” Before he even took a step forward, the call came that the break was over.

“Or not,” Sam smirked.

Steve snickered. “You can talk to him after, I guess.”

Bucky heaved a sigh, but made his way over to the other trombones nonetheless. He could wait until they were done for the day to talk to Rhodes. Sure. That was fine.

* * *

After they finished, Bucky waited until Tony climbed into the car that showed up for him before he dared to approach Rhodes, squaring his shoulders and drawing forth every last shred of confidence he had. It shattered like glass the second he was spotted and Rhodes gave him such a dark glare, a shiver ran down his spine. He couldn’t get his feet to move and his mind was screaming “ _ABORT! ABORT! ABORT! THIS ISN’T WOR_ –” Bucky thought of the quirk of Tony’s lips, of the full-bellied laughter and the quiet snickers he wanted to know, wanted to be the cause of. _This is worth it_ , he internally sighed, _even if Rhodes is about to flat-out murder me and every single witness around_.

“What do you want, Barnes?” Rhodes snapped, which gave Bucky just enough courage to walk up to the other kid.

Bucky tried to respond, but no sound made it past the lump of fear in his throat. He coughed once, clearing it, and tried again. Squeaked. As his face burned, he caught the twitch of Rhodes’ mouth. When Rhodes didn’t say anything, Bucky tried a third time. He had to _try_ , at least. “I wanted to – Tony is – I just – sunshine,” he stammered.

The glare didn’t change, but Rhodes did blink. “How ‘bout you try that again?” he said, less hostile than before.

“I’m gay!” Bucky blurted. _How can just thinking about Tony turn me into such a disaster_ , he wondered, wishing the ground would open up and save him the mortification.

The glare was replaced by utter confusion. “Good for you?”

Over Rhodes’ shoulder, Bucky found Sam, Steve, and Clint howling with laughter and – _was Rogers recording this? That fucking **punk**_. Ignoring the assholes he reluctantly called friends, Bucky took a deep breath. “I wanted to apologize. To Stark, I mean. Tony, if I’m allowed to call him that. What I said… ‘bout judgin’ him better once I know him, it wasn’t okay. He didn’t deserve that, an’ I’d like to have the chance to get to know him.”

No response came, but Rhodes did raise a _distinctly_ _unimpressed_ eyebrow.

The look registered in Bucky’s mind, but he was busy getting lost in the memory of Tony’s smile, the echo of his laughter. He knew he was probably smiling like a lovestruck idiot again, but damn he couldn’t help it. “His smile is like sunshine,” he drawled, “an’ I could listen to him laugh all day.”

Rhodes’ expression didn’t exactly change but it held a definite tone of _judging_. “What makes you think I’m letting you anywhere _near_ my best friend, Barnes? How do I know you’re not a lying sack of shit and a damn good actor?”

Bucky felt his heart crack and his hope die. _Four years_ , he thought, _four years of only glimpsin’ that sunshine smile from a distance. Four years of cherishin’ every moment I get to hear that beautiful laughter, because I’ll never get close enough to make him laugh like that._

Some of his thoughts must have reflected on his face, because Rhodes suddenly snorted. “Calm down man,” Rhodes told him. “I can tell you are way too gone on Tones, so I’ll give you a chance.”

His heart had all of half a second to soar as he grinned ridiculously before Rhodes’ glare returned. Bucky’s blood froze and he could almost swear his balls shriveled up in fear.

“One chance. You fuck up and no one will find your body,” Rhodes warned, before giving him one last mocking smirk and walking over to a car that had just pulled up.

Bucky couldn’t move, could barely even breathe. He only became aware of Steve, Clint, and Sam standing next to him when Steve aimed a hard jab at him arm. Still, he didn’t dare move out of pure terror. “Steve,” he croaked, “after I die, it’ll be your job to embarrass my sisters in front of their dates, an’ to try to scare them off.”

“You won’t die as long as you don’t fuck up,” Clint pointed out.

Bucky turned to him with wide, horrified eyes. He whispered, “You played a prank on him and he thought you were tryin’ to humiliate him.”

Clint paused for a long moment, thinking about it, and then nodded, smiling. “So,” he chirped, “do you have any preferences for your coffin?”

Bucky whimpered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand, there's Bucky's point of view!
> 
> Comments are kudos are more than welcome, and so very much appreciated!!
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you so much for reading!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to everyone on the WinterIron Discord who helped me build this fic up into what it is and what it will be, and especially for enjoying the snippets I posted and encouraging me to write and post this!! There is a lot planned for this fic, and I really hope to get to all of it!
> 
> Come scream at me in the comments!


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